FEATURE : KEITH HEILVEIL
How A Mentor ’ s Insight Helped Keith Heilveil Build His Dream Career
At a young age , Keith Heilveil knew his life was not like life on the shows he watched on TV . There was no house with a yard , no family sitting down for dinner at the dining table to tell each other about their days . His parents were divorcing . His mother started college to become a nurse , and he saw his dad primarily on the weekends when he was home from his job , which was a three-hour commute across state lines . Like many kids in his neighborhood , Keith spent a lot of time on his own or with friends . As a result , he admits , he chose to hang around with the wrong group of kids and caused trouble .
Keith eventually realized he had to make a different choice . Would he continue on his current path or pursue a life that offered more than he currently experienced ?
“ I was fortunate to see successful professionals and business owners accomplish things I wanted , like a family and a home . I saw two very different worlds ,” Keith remembers . “ I wanted more . I wanted a house , kids , and a solid family .” He loved and admired his parents . His hardworking father was an important role model . Still , Keith had a vision for his adult life : he would obtain a college degree , and his family would resemble those on the TV shows he used to watch . “ People used to say I lived for 20 years ahead . I believe you must see where you want to go ,” he says . “ I knew what I wanted to accomplish because I saw others accomplishing it .”
Keith knew he wanted to build a fulfilling business aligned with his family values . This powerful motivation became necessary when his vision proved harder to achieve than he had thought it would .
A PROMISE MADE
Keith ’ s goals drove him to develop a strong work ethic at a very young age . At ten , he was babysitting regularly , and by 12 , he had three paper routes and delivered newspapers seven days a
week . At age 14 , he was working weekends when school was in session and 40 hours a week during the summer months . By the time he was 22 , he had founded a home improvement company and bought his first home . Three years later , he married his wife , who shared his values and also hoped for kids someday . But as his responsibilities grew , Keith ’ s once clear vision of stability and family became much more complicated .
As the project manager for his home improvement business , Keith started his day at 7:00 a . m . By midmorning , he was the finance and contract manager for new work orders . At noon , he worked with the sales team , and by 9:00 p . m ., he wrapped up marketing . He labored through grueling 80-hour weeks and rarely had free time for his wife .
“ It was a long day , but if you stopped marketing today or tomorrow , you didn ’ t have business in 60 days ,” Keith says . That was the nature of business-to-consumer transactional relationships , but it wasn ’ t Keith ’ s nature . “ I am about relationships , providing value to clients and helping them grow ,” he says . “ I couldn ’ t do that in my company .”
In a few years , Keith and his wife welcomed their first child into their family , but his work hours were still overwhelming . “ I was miserable because of the long hours ,” he says . “ The most important parts of my life are family and health . I couldn ’ t prioritize my family the way I wanted to in the retail industry . It just wasn ’ t me . I told my wife that if I couldn ’ t get to normal hours in two years , I would leave .” Unfortunately , he could not , so he closed the company and started a mortgage-lending business in hopes it would offer the work-life balance he craved .
Running the mortgage company had its perks . It was still businessto-consumer , but now Keith found meeting client expectations easier . “ I was definitely helping people out , and the career had
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